The Beauty of Honesty
by NyxSchuyler
Summary: Kiku decides to help plant cherry blossoms for Meimei, who is too shy to admit her feelings for him. But then... Kiku confesses that...! Read to find out! -Major Fluff-


Kiku wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his gardening glove and sighed. He was exhausted from planting cherry trees all day and he had just been informed that he was only a quarter finished with his work. A small smile graced his lips as he dug the blade of the shovel into the earth and rested his foot on the shoulder. It was worth it, of course. After the war, Japan needed someway to gain a tighter bond with Taiwan, seeing as competition for regional influence was festering between both he and China.

It slightly bothered Kiku by the fact his older brother was changing into… a power-hungry being. (But yet, Yao could always find the time to romp with his Hello Kitty dolls.) There was tension amid them and Kiku hated it. It was, then, that he realized he needed to seek some form of affection from someone else.

Hong Kong was quite unlikely to give what he wanted (or any other emotion for that matter), and Japan hardly even wanted to bother with South Korea, so with process of elimination, Kiku finally rested his hopes on the lovely Taiwan.

At first, Meimei was hesitant to let him into her household after the incident that occurred between them all those years ago, but she learned to forgive and forget. And Kiku was grateful for her kindness. In return, he happily presented a gift of two thousand cherry blossoms that were to be set throughout her garden

Meimei was taking a break from planting and was stirring up a blend of tea for them. Kiku watched with soft affection at her sweet gesture. She looked quite beautiful with her hair pulled up into a graceful ponytail. She appeared to not want to part with the blossoms tucked behind her ear, so that was left untouched. Aside from that, her usual apparel was left unchanged.

Though this thought was of brotherly affection, Kiku was always puzzled by how Meimei took them. She blushed, she blurted out random things, she acted clumsy…! _She was an Asian Italy!_

"Kiku-san!" She called as she pranced outside with a wooden platter in her hands. "I hope you like jasmine tea. Even though I heard from Hong Kong that you and… big brother aren't on good terms nowadays…" Her tone became nervous when Kiku expression went stoic. With one free hand, she tucked a lock of mahogany hair behind her ear and turned to walk back into her house. "I'll go and get another kind-"

A hand touched her shoulder lightly. She turned her head and flushed ever so slightly. _Ah, there it was again…_

Kiku was smiling tenderly at her. "It's alright; I love jasmine tea." _I just wish Yao hadn't created it though... _Japan silently added. He tilted his head in a way that made Meimei imagine him as a happy kitten. She giggled embarrassingly at the mere thought. He eyed her curiously. _...And again…_

She glanced down at her shoulder and realized that his hand had not left. Meimei blinked. "Kiku-san, may you please…?" His hand was swiftly away from her and grabbed the cup of tea instead. She took a cup for herself and flung the platter back into the open door to her house, where it landed gracefully back in its place on the shelf. The male nation raised an eyebrow. Taiwan shrugged innocently. It was a gift of hers. He gazed at her over the rim of his teacup in a way she found deeply enticing, it made her shiver.

_... Again with the behavior... _Kiku merely twitched.

Meimei mentally scolded herself for behaving in such a way towards her brotherly figure and downed the entire cup of jasmine tea just to distract herself.

"Oops!" Taiwan blushed furiously when droplets of the clear, honey colored liquid dribbled down her chin. "Aah… I… um…" _Stupid, stupid Meimei…! And in front of Kiku, too…! He must think I'm a pig-_

_... Hmm..._

To her surprise, Japan reached into his pocket and pulled out a silky handkerchief. He wordlessly reached over and wiped it off her chin, making her flinch in the process. Meimei had never been touched be him in such a long time…

Another mental scold.

As Taiwan endured her internal torment, Kiku had started his gardening work again; placing the teacup on a nearby rock for her to take. Meimei could only _stare. _Yao never looked as adorable when he was laboring in the rice fields. Kiku Honda did. _Was he always so __**kawaii**__? I guess I never really watched him mature as I was rebuilding my house…_

"Meimei-san?" (Kyaaa… her name was even prettier being said by him~) Kiku looked at her. Heart fluttering and cheeks burning with discomfort, Taiwan shyly asked, "Yes, Kiku-san?"

Japan hardly blinked when he said with such_ honesty_…

**"Your face is like a tomato. I would look out for Italy, if I were you."**

And he continued working. Meimei could only stand there in stunned silence as she held her teacup.

* * *

A/N: I was bored and I thought there should be more cute Japan/Kiku x Taiwan/Meimei stories since there are barely any on  
Nope, not really a hardcore romance (fluffy actually), just Meimei acting like a clumsy schoolgirl for Kiku and acting sweet for him... which he seemed oblivious of and only noticed her for her quirkiness. There's brutal honesty from him. You can expect that in canon. XD  
On the side note: it's quite true that Japan decided to hand Taiwan a gift of 2000 cherry blossoms to deepen their ties. (Poor China/Yao. He doesn't get any love from them in APH _and_ in reality...)

Work harder Kiku~! XD You got a few thousand left~!!!

R&R please! (I give you Taiwan's jasmine tea!!)


End file.
